MARY SCHWER FOLEY :MARY SCHWER FOLEY was a leading Irish motoring journalist for the past four decades and the only woman ever to hold the office of chairperson of the Irish Motoring Writers' Association. A dynamic, charming and capable businesswoman, she co-published, with her husband Brian Foley, many magazines and annuals and excelled in bringing the female perspective to buying, driving and looking after cars.
Her family name, Schwer, originated in Germany, but is long established in Ireland.
Mary’s father Stephen, who worked at Giltown Stud, married a local girl, Johanna Phelan, and they had five children, with Mary the only girl. She attended Brannockstown National School and went on to Cross and Passion Secondary School in Kilcullen.
At 18 she began training in the beauty industry in Naas. Her entrepreneurial spirit quickly showed and she opened her first salon in Kilcullen. While building her business, Mary’s strong interest in cars was apparent. Maybe it was because her home county, Kildare, was in the heart of the Gordon Bennett Circuit – an event she later took part in twice aboard Mercedes-Benz cars.
She began kart racing in 1965, which was very unusual for a woman at the time, and raced at all the big karting events in venues such as Dunlavin, Midleton and Borris. She was a fine driver – with superb judgment and anticipation.
While attending the 1966 road races at Dunboyne she was enjoying refreshments in a lounge bar when she met Brian Foley, the editor of Auto Ireland – the bible for the motorsport fraternity. After a short interlude working in England and staying with her aunt in Luton, she returned to Ireland and met Brian again at a rugby match in Carlow.
Their first real date was to a motorsport film night at Clontarf Castle – kindred spirits with a shared passion. Twelve months later, in April 1969, their marriage in Terenure College was attended by leading motorsport luminaries of the day – Alec Poole, Ken Fildes, Eddie Regan, Frank Keane, Brian Kehoe and others.
Mary loved to travel, so it was no wonder her honeymoon was a long cruise departing for Marseilles and on to Genoa, Athens, Haifa and back via Cyprus. She was a great support to Brian as Auto Ireland covered every branch of motorsport and also all the new road car launches.
During this period she met rally driver Rosemary Smith and the pair became lifelong friends.
She wrote extensively, including a widely read column which she cheekily entitled “For the Birds!” Mary was a capable multitasker, but there was no role she cherished or enjoyed more than being mother to Sinéad and later grandmother to Ronan.
She contracted cancer in 2003 and after heavy treatment fought back to full health, until it reappeared last year. She spoke to support groups up and down the country, and her positive attitude was an inspiration to hundreds of sufferers that it is possible to have a good life after cancer.
She attended many grand prix and especially loved Monaco, with its unique combination of high glam fashion and very fast cars for road and track. She met all the great racing drivers of the day – Jochen Rindt, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and others, but the highlight was a Fiat-arranged trip to the Ferrari factory at Maranello and lunch with the great Commondatore Enzo Ferrari.
Mary’s writing style was engaging, personal and light-hearted – but with interesting and often alternative viewpoints clearly expressed. She wrote for many publications, and was elected chairperson of the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association in 1997-98. She is still the only woman to have held the post.
Her positive personality, ready smile and strong work ethic ensured her term was an outstanding success in building the organisation and moving it forward.
In 2003 Mary and Brian sold their magazines to Smurfit Publications, and Mary was delighted when the publisher of Irish Tatler, Norah Casey, asked her to edit the magazine’s Autowoman section.
She continued to write about cars even during her final months at St James’s Hospital, choosing to move home to the Curragh Hospice for her final days.
She is survived by her husband Brian, daughter Sinéad, grandson Ronan and brothers Stephen, Maurice, Laurence and Patrick.
Mary Schwer Foley: born, July 29th, 1942; died, March 4th, 2012